The UCLA Medical Center is part of a network of more than 170 primary care practices throughout Southern California and has four main hospitals including Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center; UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica; UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital; and the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA.
The UCLA Center for Human Nutrition features one of the most thorough weight management programs in the country. The Risk Factor Obesity (RFO) Program offers patients calorie-limiting dietary regimens, physical activity and behavior modification tools. Doctors in this program treat obesity as a “multifactorial disorder,” addressing the multiple causes of the disease specific to the individual. Upon first visit, they collect a patient’s blood labs, body composition and weight history, and conduct a physical examination, among other tests.
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center features a Level 1 trauma center for children and adults. The BirthPlace, located at both the Santa Monica and Westwood campuses, has delivery suites and postpartum rooms designed to feel like home. For patients later in life, the Geriatrics Special Care unit at Santa Monica Hospital offers the UCLA Companion Care Program, which provides volunteers to older patients. These specially trained volunteers spend time with patients, playing games, reading and accompanying patients on walks with a nurse’s supervision.
Another form of companionship includes animal-assisted therapy, which is available to critically ill children and adults through the UCLA People-Animal Connection, or PAC. Volunteer teams of canines and humans make visits to patients.
Patients at the UCLA Medical Center can rest assured that earthquakes won’t affect their access to treatment. It is one of the first hospitals built in line with the state’s latest seismic safety requirements and can remain operational during national disasters.